Dear colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that the California State University and California Faculty Association have reached a tentative agreement. The disconcerting threat of a strike has lifted. Courses and campus operations will continue without interruption.

General information on the tentative agreement may be found here. Represented employees will receive more information about this tentative agreement – and its effect on you – from your bargaining unit leadership.

The bargaining teams for the CSU and CFA worked tirelessly to achieve a positive result. Today is an opportunity to thank all those who spend countless days and hours in bargaining preparations and discussions. The outcome of their work – improved compensation for our faculty and all employees – is an investment in our students, and that investment in students will yield dividends for generations.

This is a good moment for our university community, but the work continues. CFA membership and CSU trustees will have an opportunity to weigh this agreement. We must also continue to ask our champions across the state and in the legislature to Stand with CSU – to advocate for proper funding of the trustees’ budget request.

Together, we will create lasting success for today’s and tomorrow’s students.

Sincerely,

Tim White
Chancellor, California State University (CSU)

The CFA Board of Directors, upon recommendation of the Bargaining Team, has recommended that a tentative agreement between CFA and CSU management be submitted to the membership for ratification.

The tentative agreement includes:
A 5% General Salary Increase on June 30, 2016 for all faculty on active pay status or on leave
A 2% General Salary Increase on July 1, 2016 for all faculty on active pay status or leave
A 3.5% General Salary Increase on July 1, 2017 for all faculty on active pay status or leave
A 2.65% Service Salary Increase (step increase) during Fiscal Year 2017/18 for eligible faculty
As part of the tentative agreement, the current faculty contract would be extended by one year, with a new expiration date of June 30, 2018. All current provisions of the contract will be continued, including workload relief for probationary tenure-line faculty and assigned time for exceptional service to students.

The union also secured improvements regarding:
Effective July 1, 2016, the minimum increase upon promotion will rise from 7.5% to 9% for tenure-line faculty who are promoted from assistant to associate professor, and associate professor to full professor.
Lecturer Range Elevation: Creation of a working group to study the problem of range elevation (pay increases) being linked to payment of step increases in order for lecturers to move up in classification. That working group, comprised of CFA and CSU leaders, is tasked with determining a solution by March 1, 2017, with binding arbitration if a resolution cannot be reached by the parties.
The agreement also includes language regarding vesting and future cooperation. Faculty hired on or after July 1, 2017 will receive full health benefits upon retirement at age 50 with at least 10 years of service credit. Faculty meeting those requirements also will be eligible for a basic dental plan paid by the CSU.

Going forward, the bargaining calendar will be altered so that CFA and CSU management will negotiate salary prior to the establishment of the CSU’s budget process and their request for funding from the legislature. This is an important change from our past bargaining processes, and signals a new spirit going forward.

This tentative agreement would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of our student, staff, labor, legislative, and community allies. We will be thanking them in the days to come, and I hope you thank the allies you have been working with on your campus.

I want to thank the CFA membership for your incredible hard work, dedication, and fearlessness in this reopener fight. You made this happen. Your creativity and style, from your red outfits to your hall-walking rap to speaking truth to power, have been inspiring. Preparing for the strike, your work on the campuses helped us secure this agreement. I am proud to be associated with you and to call you my colleagues.    

Details on when and how to vote to ratify this tentative agreement will be forthcoming. We will begin bargaining for the successor contract on July 1, 2017 for the next contract that will begin July 1, 2018. That’s not a lot of rest time. We will need your help building power through membership and your fierce advocacy again very soon.

In Solidarity,

Jennifer Eagan
President, CFA

California Faculty Association and California State University leaders will hold a joint news conference call for news media to announce a tentative agreement on a reopened contract between the university administration and faculty union. The proposed five-day faculty strike, slated to begin on April 13, will be postponed pending approval and ratification of the agreement by the CFA Board of Directors and membership. Once ratified by the CFA membership, the tentative agreement will be voted on by the CSU Board of Trustees at the May 24-25 meeting.
Check CFA's website (www.calfac.org) for more information tomorrow.